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Fresno Westlands growers get some bad news: District likely won’t receive federal water deliveries this season

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 29, 2009 at 7:48 am

From the Fresno Bee:

West Fresno County farmer Bob Diedrich hoped for good news during a standing-room-only meeting of Westlands Water District growers Wednesday. But Diedrich, a farmer for 45 years, didn’t like what he heard. Westlands officials said growers in the district will likely receive no federal water deliveries this season.

At least 200 people, mainly Westlands Water District farmers, packed themselves into available folding chairs, crowded to peer through open doorways and lined themselves against the wall during the Westlands workshop.

“Our projections are that our allocations will be zero, absent a significant change in hydrology,” said Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District in Fresno.

Farmers are heading into their third consecutive dry year.

Diedrich was one of about 100 crammed into a shop building at the district’s west side office eager to hear details from district officials and Ron Milligan, operations manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. “What am I supposed to do, if I have no water?” Diedrich asked. “I have five guys that I employ year-round, and now I may have to tell them they don’t have jobs.”

Birmingham said they were looking all over the state for water, but nothing was guaranteed. Members of the board are experiencing the difficulties:

Farmer and Westlands board President Jean Sagouspe sympathized with growers, saying he, too, is having to make tough decisions.

But Sagouspe also said the problem is not just the lack of rain and snow. He said environmental policies, including court-ordered pumping restrictions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to protect endangered fish, have helped create this current crisis.

“People don’t have a clue about what is going on,” Sagouspe said. “The governor doesn’t even care. He will only care when L.A. runs out of water.”

Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

January 29, 2009 · Filed Under Westlands Water District

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